Varietal Differences in Seed Germination and Seedling Survival of Bitter Gourd (Momordica charantia L.) Genotypes

Abstract

Bittergourd (Momordica charantia L.) is a multipurpose vegetable renowned for its distinct bitter taste, nutritional richness and potential health benefits. Fourteen different bitter gourd genotypes were evaluated at Department of Horticulture, University of agricultural sciences, GKVK, Bengaluru. To know the variations with respect to germination percentage, days taken for germination and survival percentage. The seeds of these genotypes were pre-soaked for 12 hrs and sown in the protrays. The maximum germination percentage was seen in the genotype Pusa Purvi (91.67) followed by Konkan Karali (88.33%) and Konkan Tara (88.00%). The minimum days taken for germination were recorded in Hirkani (8.00 days), Punjab 14 (8.50 days), Pusa Rasdar (9.00 days) and Konkan Tara (9.00 days) making them favourable for faster germination. The maximum survival percentage was recorded in Hirkani (97.30) followed by Pusa Purvi (97.81) and Phule Green Gold (97.31) while CO 1 exhibited lowest germination (40.33%) and survival (82.12%) percentage. These findings underscore the importance of genotype selection in optimizing germination and survival rates, which are critical for achieving high crop yields and robust plant growth.